Cyrus paid tribute to her late godmother Parton in an Instagram post on Wednesday, Aug. 26

NEED TO KNOW

• Miley Cyrus shared a tribute to her godmother Dolly Parton
• Parton became Cyrus’s godmother after bonding with Billy Ray Cyrus during a 1990s tour
• The two collaborated on projects over the years, including a reimagined charity single in January

Miley Cyrus is remembering her beloved godmother Dolly Parton.

The “Flowers” singer shared a heartfelt Instagram tribute to her “Aunt Dolly” on Wednesday, Aug. 26 after Parton died on Tuesday, Aug. 25 at age 80.

“The feeling of losing my Aunt Dolly is beyond what feels right to share,” Cyrus, 33, began the post. “Our most sacred moments were private and they’ll stay there behind the stage, beneath the glamour & between our hearts.”

She added: “What I KNOW is Dolly would want me to feel it, write a song about it, and then continue on and be strong. I have an angel by my side. I always have. One of our last conversations was about music and metamorphosis.”

Cyrus added that she “will always love her and want to make her proud.”

“My heart breaks for the world, her family and friends who will miss her deeply. We’re in this loss together and we will see her in all of the most beautiful things,” she concluded.

Alongside the post, Cyrus shared a sweet black-and-white photo of Parton.

View this post on Instagram

Cyrus has known Parton since she was born, as the “Jolene” singer has been close with her dad, Billy Ray Cyrus, for decades after they formed a bond on tour together in the 1990s. The two eventually grew so close that Billy Ray and his ex-wife Tish asked Parton to be Miley’s godmother after she was born in 1992.

“He said… ‘We’re having a girl, and you’ve got to be her godmother!’ And I said, ‘Well, I’d be honored,’” Parton previously told SiriusXM’s The Howard Stern Show. “So actually, Miley and I took over from there. We’ve just stayed very, very close through the years… I love Miley. She’s my little sweetheart. I’ve known her since before she was born, actually.”

Parton and Cyrus teamed up several times on projects over the years, and Cyrus lovingly called her “Aunt Dolly.”

The “9 to 5” singer played Cyrus’s recurring fairy godmother on her sitcom Hannah Montana, and appeared in three episodes from 2006 to 2010. On Parton’s final album Rockstar in 2023, they joined forces on a new version of Cyrus’s 2013 hit “Wrecking Ball.”

In 2017, Cyrus revealed the best part about having Parton in her life, telling Cosmopolitan it was “watching the way she treats people with love and respect.”

Parton also defended the star in 2014 to the Sunday Times magazine, praising her for living life her own way.

“Back in the day, doing my own things my own way, and dressing sexy and showing my cleavage and all that, I got a lot of criticism,” she said. “Lots of people thought I was making a mistake and that I was just trashy, which I was… So I did go through that, but I don’t give her advice. Everyone has to walk this journey according to their own rules. That’s what she’s doing. And I lurve her.”

The two collaborated most recently in January for a charity single reimagining of Parton’s 1977 hit “Light of a Clear Blue Morning” with Lainey Wilson, Queen Latifah and Reba McEntire.

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